Paychex vs. Payroll by Wave

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Paychex
Score 6.8 out of 10
N/A
Paychex Flex, of Paychex' Online Payroll Services, is a cloud-based human resource management and payroll platform. Paychex offers core and specialized services, and scales to meet the needs of small businesses, SMBs, and large enterprises.N/A
Payroll by Wave
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Wave Accounting headquartered in Toronto now offers Payroll by Wave, a payroll app for small businesses.N/A
Pricing
PaychexPayroll by Wave
Editions & Modules
Paychex Flex Pro
Custom Pricing
per month/+$4 per employee
HR Pro
Custom Pricing
HR PEO
Custom Pricing
Paychex Flex Select
Custom Pricing
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Custom Pricing
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PaychexPayroll by Wave
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PaychexPayroll by Wave
Considered Both Products
Paychex

No answer on this topic

Payroll by Wave
Chose Payroll by Wave
All the services we researched were quality options however given our size at the time I settled on Payroll by Wave apps based on cost and how easy it was to run Payroll.
Features
PaychexPayroll by Wave
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.7
272 Ratings
19% below category average
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data7.8219 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.1242 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration7.8177 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.8172 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management7.5158 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)6.8146 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.7
313 Ratings
5% below category average
Payroll by Wave
9.4
5 Ratings
13% above category average
Pay calculation8.0295 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment7.1153 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Benefit plan administration6.9174 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.3294 Ratings9.05 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.0209 Ratings9.55 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.7118 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.3
159 Ratings
11% below category average
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Approval workflow7.3113 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details7.5151 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment7.0119 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.8
270 Ratings
5% below category average
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information7.8248 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information7.9260 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation7.7121 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history7.9184 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.0
43 Ratings
47% below category average
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets5.043 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.9
177 Ratings
24% below category average
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Report builder6.3147 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports6.3165 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data5.191 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.4
173 Ratings
22% below category average
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
New hire portal6.7165 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools6.1109 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.2
70 Ratings
40% below category average
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management5.536 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting5.334 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media4.728 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting5.235 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention4.834 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking4.839 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts5.964 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PaychexPayroll by Wave
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
PaychexPayroll by Wave
Likelihood to Recommend
6.3
(322 ratings)
10.0
(6 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
1.2
(44 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
6.7
(264 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
5.6
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.1
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.2
(264 ratings)
8.9
(2 ratings)
In-Person Training
4.5
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.3
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.4
(13 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
5.0
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
6.0
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
2.2
(33 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
3.2
(34 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PaychexPayroll by Wave
Likelihood to Recommend
Paychex Inc.
Paychex is great option for smaller employers as the site offers perk benefits to employees at no cost to the employer. I don't see anything like this being offered at competitors such as ADP RUN/Total Source, Bamboo, Trinet, Justworks or Gusto. Also, the initial set up is relatively easy and the dedicated support for set up is great along with our regular dedicated payroll support.
Read full review
Wave
Great for small business payroll needs. Reports and taxes are taken care of, everything is automated and once you're set up it's literally just a matter of minutes to run payroll each time. You also get email reminders which is helpful. There are premium features available for companies with larger/more robust needs, and I would definitely recommend looking into this software if you are searching for a user friendly payroll solution
Read full review
Pros
Paychex Inc.
  • It provides a well account of Retirement Plan Account Information.
  • Alerts are sent to email when there is new information to access.
  • Employee access both online and thru app.
  • Paperless options.
  • Easy and quick access to paystubs and tax forms.
  • Easy employee retirement management.
Read full review
Wave
  • An intuitive, clear UI helps you know where everything is, what options are at your disposal. Calendars and timelines show that Wave really thought out how to provide you with useful tool.
  • Pay day can be automated and straightforward.
  • Wave onboarding provides guidance at what information to input next until you are all set up.
Read full review
Cons
Paychex Inc.
  • I understand logging you out is a security function, but I'd prefer it not to log you out so soon.
  • The training we received for the team's meeting was subpar, in my opinion. Probably better geared for people with little to no computer experience. Very slow pace; we could have easily received all of this from some tutorials in a few minutes.
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Wave
  • Implement an employee time clock option through a separate link which automatically applies to the weekly time sheets.
  • Option to further customize payroll statements
  • Add a per employee payroll dashboard with the option to review rolling, quarterly, and weekly snapshot. Info to include gross pay, employer paid tax, employee paid tax, etc...
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Paychex Inc.
Overall I like the features that Paychex Flex offers. I am sure that there are other features that I am unaware of, so I am excited to see if there is more that Flex is capable of to make my job easier. The basic features are really user friendly and easy to access. If there ever is an issue customer service is great
Read full review
Wave
No answers on this topic
Usability
Paychex Inc.
Employee usability is very good and user-friendly. For the most part, the employer usability is good, but for complicated rules and policies, it requires technical assistance, which in our case, was clunky and slow in implementation. Once is place, everything works as it should
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Wave
Very simple & straightforward system to learn and when time is always of the essence the efficiency is much appreciated
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Paychex Inc.
We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
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Wave
No answers on this topic
Performance
Paychex Inc.
Unless there is lag time within the internet, the Paychex Flex website loads exceptional fast, pages load quickly and reports that I need to print or download load quickly. If I need to create a specialized report, once I complete it I receive an e-mail telling me my report is ready to be downloaded. Changing between web pages is fast as well.
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Wave
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Paychex Inc.
Chat has been helpful but the person I chat with isn't always able to help me with my questions. Phone support is ok, depending on your payroll specialist. We have a great one currently, but the few before that were never available and did not return calls.
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Wave
Quick response times, personalized service. They offer in-depth videos and guides for helping to get set up. Any time I have a question about taxes or reporting, they answer quickly and give comprehensive answers. Members of the team with whom I've interacted have been courteous, friendly, and helpful. Overall, great support.
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In-Person Training
Paychex Inc.
We did online training only
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Wave
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Paychex Inc.
It was easy to understand and follow along. I do like the informational videos that we can utilize before we opt to call in for customer service support. It has made a difference since sometimes that resolves the issue I may have had and saved myself a phone call to Paychex support.
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Wave
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Paychex Inc.
Implementation was very smooth. The most cumbersome task was entering the current employees into the system during initial set up, but Paychex staff handled most of that and verified against prior system reports as well as internal reports provided to ensure 100% accuracy.
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Wave
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Paychex Inc.
We still use QB Desktop Pro to maintain a Check Register / Overall Balance for the company, but once having tried QB Payroll Online for about 3 months prior to finding Paychex Flex I can tell you that there's just no comparison. QB online is VERY EXPENSIVE and not so user-friendly. I hated every minute of those 6 payrolls we ran through QB online.
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Wave
First is the cost. Since QuickBooks removed the inhouse solution and moved everything to the cloud, the cost for a small business is prohibited. Wave is reasonable in cost. Support for QB isn't great they are always trying to upsell and commit. Wave support in comparison is 100% better, and most of the answers are in their manual
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Scalability
Paychex Inc.
I generally do payroll at the office, however I have had to go remote due to internet issues and also had to take payroll on vacation with me. Very easy to log in wherever you are and manage your TAA and payroll
Read full review
Wave
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Paychex Inc.
  • With Paychex Flex we have been able to improve our compliance with required documentation for new/rehires
  • Moving everyone to direct deposit and mobile clock in/out eliminated lines at punching stations and paycheck pickup stations
  • Lost checks is a thing of the past
Read full review
Wave
  • Peace of mind that all the payroll tax-related stuff is taken care of accurately and on time.
  • Easy to use interface saves time and helps ensure I am paid on time.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Paychex Screenshots

Screenshot of Paychex Payroll DashboardScreenshot of Employee Background ChecksScreenshot of Paychex HR DashboardScreenshot of Paychex Flex Perks